The present invention relates to a method of treating a continuous flow fluid that may be used to degrade matter within fluids, remove matter from fluids, separate matter within a fluid by density, sterilize fluids, and/or degrade toxic chemicals within a fluid.
The method of the present invention may also be utilized to clean, sterilize, and/or deodorize objects submerged within a continuous flow of fluid.
Subjecting a fluid to ultrasonic waves enables various treatments of the fluid and objects or matter within the fluid. For instance, submerging objects within a fluid subjected to ultrasonic waves can clean the objects. Placing a piece of solid matter such as, but not limited to, a salt pellet within a fluid subjected to ultrasonic waves causes erosion of the solid matter. Furthermore, matter bonded together may be separated when placed within a fluid subjected to ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic waves traveling within a fluid may also be utilized to separate matter within fluid into bands or laminas.
Emitting ultrasonic waves into a fluid induces cavitations, small bubbles, within the fluid and causes objects and/or matter within the fluid to vibrate. As the ultrasound waves pass through the fluid, cavitations are spontaneously formed within the fluid. Explosion of the cavitations creates tiny areas of high pressure within the fluid Releasing high pressure into the fluid, the explosions of the cavitations provide the energy needed to treat the fluid and objects or matter within the fluid. In addition to creating cavitations, ultrasound waves emitted into a fluid vibrate matter and/or objects within the fluid. As matter and/or objects within the fluid vibrate, bonds holding the matter together and/or bond holding matter to an object weaken and sheer.
Ultrasonic waves emitted into a fluid in which an object is submerged remove matter from the object, thereby cleaning the object. Methods of utilizing ultrasonic, waves emitted into a fluid to clean objects within the fluid are employed by the devices disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0086604 AI, U.S. Patent Publication 2005/0220665 AI, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,858,181 B2.
Trapping energy within cavitations, releasing energy from the explosions of cavitations, and/or inducing vibrations within matter, ultrasonic waves emitted into a fluid sheer the bonds holding matter together such as, but not limited to, adhesive bonds, mechanical bonds, ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and/or van der Waals bonds, thereby separating the matter. Ultrasonic waves passing through the fluid induce vibrations in matter within the fluid. As the matter vibrates, the bonds holding the matter together begin to stretch and sheer weakening, if not breaking, the bonds. Furthermore, matter within and/or near an exploding cavitation is exposed to tremendous changes in pressure that weakens, if not breaks, the bonds. Eventually the bonds holding the matter together become so weakened and strained that they break releasing small pieces and/or molecules of the matter into the fluid. If the matter is comprised of several different substances, the different substances comprising the matter become separated and released into the fluid. Methods of utilizing ultrasonic waves emitted into a fluid to break up and/or separate matter within the fluid are employed by the devices described in U.S. Patent Publication 2003/0183798 AI, U.S. Patent Publication 2003/0051989 AI, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,273 BI.
After matter within a fluid has been separated by ultrasonic waves emitted into the fluid, the matter may segregate into laminas. Segregation of matter within the fluid into laminas is assisted by the ultrasonic waves emitted into the fluid. Striking the matter the ultrasonic waves cause the matter to move through the fluid and into a particular lamina. The particular lamina that matter segregates into is dependent upon, among other things, the density of the matter. Less dense matter such as, but not limited to, gases move towards the upper lamina within the fluid. The movement of gases towards the upper lamina is driven by the ultrasonic waves colliding with the gas molecules as well as the natural tendency of matter less dense than the fluid it is in to move out of the fluid. Denser matter such as, but not limited to, solids and dense fluids, fall out of the fluid. As with less dense matter, ultrasonic waves striking dense manner exert a force on the matter in the direction the ultrasonic waves are traveling through the fluid. However, the force exerted by the ultrasonic waves on dense matter is insufficient to overcome dense matter's natural tendency to sink within the fluid. Consequently, dense matter separated from lighter matter segregates in lower laminas within the fluid. Below the laminas comprising less dense matter and above the laminas comprising dense matter, laminas containing matter of an intermediate density may form. As with dense matter and less dense matter, ultrasonic waves striking matter of an intermediate density exert a force on the matter. Unlike with dense matter, the force exerted by ultrasonic waves bitted into the fluid on matter of an intermediate density counteracts in whole or in part the natural tendency of the intermediate dense matter to sink. The more dense the matter the less effective the ultrasonic waves are at counteracting the matter's tendency to sink. Consequently, the matter will segregate into laminas based on, among other things, the density of the matter. A method of utilizing ultrasonic waves emitted into fluid to separate matter within a fluid into laminas based on density is employed by the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,750 B2.
The breaking of bonds with ultrasonic waves emitted into a fluid can also be utilized to kill and/or inactivate organisms within the fluid such as, but not limited to, bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae, and/or yeast. Separating the molecules making up an organism's cellular membranes vibrations and cavitations create holes within an organism's cellular membranes. Chemicals may enter and/or leave the organism's cytoplasm through the holes created in the cellular membranes causing the cell to lyse and/or become poisoned. In addition to disrupting cellular membranes, ultrasonic waves emitted into a fluid may also denature or otherwise damage molecules needed by the organism for survival. For example, by inducing a protein within an organism to vibrate ultrasonic waves emitted into a fluid containing the organism may cause the subunits comprising the protein to separate. Denaturing a protein renders the protein ineffective in its life sustaining role, thereby essentially removing the protein from the organism. Loss of the protein may inactivate the organism and/or eventually lead to the organism's death, if the protein is needed for survival. Methods of utilizing ultrasonic waves emitted into a fluid to inactivate and/or kill organisms are employed by the devices disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication 2003/0234173 AI, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,018,546 82, and 6,444,176 B1.
Though there are methods of utilizing ultrasonic waves emitted into a fluid to clean objects within the fluid, sterilize the fluid and/or objects within it, separate bonded matter within the fluid, segregate matter within the fluid into discrete laminas, and kill and/or inactivate organisms within the fluid, a method providing all of the these treatments on a large scale is lacking.